String receptacle and dispenser



April Z2, 1941. J. H. wrrHEY y STRING RECEPTACLE AND DIIS'ENSER Filed Sept.4 25. 1939 Patented Apr. 22, 1941 Fries l essai-e seaman-sommets Ann nrsrnnsna Fehn H. Withey, Portland, Greg., `assigner to Tempe Gf. Rho-des, Fortlan'd, Greg.

Application September 23, 1839, Serial No. 296,277

(ci. air- 142i 2 Claims.

.,rnonly used for wrapping parcels is u-sefulin all households, but it Will become tangled and soiled unless some suitable receptacle is provided for it. vOfl course, said receptacle should be adapted to dispense the string in a convenient manner as Well' as to receive it.

-. A further object of my invention is to provide Vstring accumulating in the ordinary household,

and has made it desirable for many people to purchase string in rolls. There is, therefore, a need for areceptacle adapted to receive and dispense a roll of string, and also to receive and dispense shorter pieces of string.

A roll of string may be conveniently inserted in the device hereinafter described, and subsequently said string may be withdrawn and used as needed. In the meantime the string will not become tangled, and it will be protected from dust and dirt. Moreover, pieces of string may be tied to the protruding string end, and Wound on said roll, means being provided for turning the latter backward.

There have heretofore been available string containers suitable for use in stores. These have not been suitable for use in the home because they have not been adapted to have pieces of string wound upon the roll, and for the most part they have not protected the string from dust, this being unnecessary in a store Where the string is used rapidly. Furthermore, string holdersl heretofore known have been unnecessarily expensive, Whereas the device herein described not only gives better service but also it may be more cheaply constructed.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a receptacle ernbodying my invention, a portion thereof being shown broken away;

Fig. 2 is a different perspective view of said receptacle, a fragment of the lid thereof being shown separated from the remainder of the receptacle;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View of said receptacle taken substantially on the line 3-3 in Fig, 4

Fig. 4 isa section taken on the line 4 4 in Fig.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end View taken in the direction of the arrow 5 in Fig. 3.

A string receptacle embodying my invention is adapted to be hung on wall I by means of nail 2 projecting through hole 3 in extension 4 of back side 5 of body 6. Said body comprises, in addition to said back side, a front l, a bottom 8 and twol ends 9, all of which may be constructed as a unit of Wood or some other suitable material. Ends 9 are provided with slots Ill adapted to serve as bearings for rotor il, which may be made of wood preferably rectangular in section thereby being adapted to engage paper tube I2 on which string I3 is Wound. It will be understood that said tube will be forced slightly out of round by said rectangular rotor if the latter is a little too large, thus accommodating minor variations in size of either said tube or said rotor.

I provide journals at either end of rotor Il in the form of nails adapted to bear in slots Ill. At the right hand end of said rotor as seen in Fig. 3 I provide a nail I4 adapted to serve as a journal and also to support a knob I5 by which said rotor may be turned to wind string thereon. I first drive said nail through said knob, and then I drive it partially into said rotor, the knob and rotor thus being joined sufliciently firmly to permit the latter to be rotated by the former. If desired, the well-known cement-coated nails may be used at I4 thereby assuring that the knob will not slip on the nail.

At the opposite end of rotor Il, I provide nail I6 adapted to serve as a journal and also to support cutter I'I, said cutter at the same time serving as a washer to prevent the head of said nail gouging into end 9. It will be apparent that, since ends 9 and the slots therein are alike, rotor I I may be turned end for end, if desired, thereby placing knob I5 at the right-hand end and cutter I1 at the left-hand end of the receptacle, the latter arrangement being more convenient for left-handed people.

Grooves I8 in front 'I and back 5, respectively, are adapted to serve as ways for cover I9, which may thus be removed or replaced merely by sliding. Cover I9 serves to prevent rotor II inadvertently coming out of slots Iii, as Well as to exclude dust and dirt.

In operation, a roll of string may be purchased and placed on rotor II. The end 2E! of said string may then be passed through hole 2I in bottom 8, and the roll may then be placed inside body 6, nails I4 and I6 resting in the bottoms of slots I0, and cover I9 may then be slid into place. When a piece of string is wanted, the desired amount may be pulled through hole 2l and cut oir by looping it over tab- 22 on cutter I1 and pulling downward. While said cutter may Vary in form, it should comprise a rather longtapered slot in order that an unduly strong pull Will not be required to cut said string. It is desirable that said cutter be adapted to be stamped out of sheet metal at a low cost, and it is, therefore, undesirable that an extremely keen edge be required; a rather dull edge such as may be easily formed in a punch press will sufce if the angle between said edge and the adjacent member be sufficiently small.

When short pieces of string are to be put away, they may be tied to end 20 and then wound on roll of string I3 by turning knob I5. It will be seen that the device described may be constructed at a low cost, and that it will serve both as a dispenser of string purchased in rolls and as a receiver and dispenser of short pieces of string.

I claim:

1. A string holder and dispenser comprising an open-mouthed elongated housing, the end portions of said housing having aligned elongated slots extending therethrough, said slots extending from a point adjacent the middle of said ends to the open mouth of said housing, a rotor having trunnions at the end thereof adapted to be rotatably mounted centrally of said housing, said trunnions being journaled in said slots, one wall of said housing having an aperture leading therethrough and constituting a passageway through which string wound about said rotor can be withdrawn from and inserted in said housing, a handle carried by and secured to one of said trunnions and adapted to lie exteriorly of said housing, a flat member journaled on the other trunnion and also adapted to lie exteriorly of said housing, and a string cutter and retainer formed upon said member, said cutter being spaced substantially from the string aperture thereby to permit a length of string to extend from said aperture to said member to promote ease in grasping said string.

2. A string holder and dispenser comprising an open-mouthed elongated housing having a removable, slidable lid element adapted to be secured across the open mouth of said housing, the end portions oi said housing having aligned elongated slots extending therethrough, said slots extending from a point adjacent the middle of said ends to the open mouth of said housing, and said lid in closed position being adapted to close said slots, a rotor having trunnions at the ends thereof adapted to be rotatably mounted centrally of said housing, said trunnions being journaled in said slots, one wall of said housing having an aperture leading therethrough and constituting a passageway through which string wound about said rotor can be withdrawn from and inserted in said housing, a handle carried by and secured to one of said trunnions and adapted to lie exteriorly of said housing, a :dat member journaled on the other trunnion and also adapted to lie exteriorly of said housing, and a string cutter and retainer formed upon said member, said cutter being spaced substantially from the string aperture thereby to permit a length of string to extend from said aperture to said member to promote ease in grasping said string, said rotor being reversible end for end, and being rotatable in either direction of rotation to facilitate withdrawal of string from said rotor or winding of string thereon, said handle and said member being of such area as to overlie said slots and to prevent retraction of said trunnions into said housing.

JOHN H. WITHEY. 

